Necas plans to penalize abusers of sick-pay

Those who abuse sick-pay will face harsher punishments as of 2009, reported Hospodarske noviny on Wednesday. The Labour and Social Affairs Minister, Petr Necas, is drafting a law which would allow employers to dismiss workers who, they could prove, had taken time off sick when they were not ill. As of 2009, it will no longer be the state which provides workers with the first 14 days’ worth of sick-pay – the task will fall to employers instead. For this reason, Mr Necas wants to give employers increased powers to combat any abuse of the system. Under the proposed legislation, workers found to be abusing sick-pay could also face a fine of up to 20,000 CZK (1000 USD). Unions and the opposition Social Democrats have criticized the proposed reforms.